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奥巴马正式启动连任竞选活动

President Barack Obama has officially begun his campaign to win a second term in the White House, six months before Election Day. The president kicked off the campaign Saturday on college campuses in two key states.

美国总统奥巴马正式开始了争取连任的竞选活动。六个月之后，美国民众将投票选举下届总统。奥巴马总统星期六前往俄亥俄州和维吉尼亚州的两所大学。

Mr. Obama’s first campaign rally was at Ohio State University in Columbus. He urged those who supported him four years ago to do so again. “We will finish what we started. We are still fired up. We are still ready to go," he said.

奥巴马先是到了美国中部的俄亥俄州，他说：“俄亥俄州的民众，你们好！”奥巴马发表演讲的地点，是俄亥俄州哥伦布市的州立大学校园。他呼吁四年前投票给他的人再度给予支持。奥巴马说：“我们一定会完成我们所开始的工作，我们如今还是踌躇满志，还是准备好上路！”

Next, a similar rally at Virginia Commonwealth¹ University in Richmond.

奥巴马还到维吉尼亚州首府里士满，出席了在维吉尼亚州立邦联大学举行的竞选集会。

Ohio and Virginia are two of the states where analysts² believe this year’s election may be decided³.

分析人士认为，在今年的大选中，俄亥俄州和维吉尼亚州将是决定胜负的两个州。

The U.S. economy could be the deciding issue, especially in manufacturing-heavy states like Ohio, where the president defended his record. “Exports surged. And over four million jobs were created in the last two years, more of one million of those in the last six months alone," he said.

起决定因素的很可能是美国的经济状况，尤其是在俄亥俄这样的以制造业为主的州。奥巴马总统在俄亥俄州讲话的时候，谈到他的政绩。他说：“我们的出口增长了许多；过去两年里，创造了四百万个新的就业机会，光是过去的这六个月里，就创造了一百多万个就业机会。”

Mr. Obama repeatedly accused his likely Republican opponent, Mitt⁴ Romney, of favoring policies that benefit the rich and hurt the middle class. “Republicans in Congress have found a nominee⁵ for president who has promised to rubber-stamp (endorse entirely) this agenda if he gets the chance," he said.

奥巴马在讲话中，反复批评了很有可能代表共和党问鼎白宫的前麻萨诸塞州州长罗姆尼。他指责罗姆尼一贯偏向有利于富人、但是对中产阶级非常不利的政策。奥巴马说：“国会的共和党人找到了一位他们想要的总统候选人，也就是一位将会按照国会共和党人的旨意办事的总统候选人。”

Romney says the president is to blame for the sluggish⁶ economic recovery. The former Massachusetts governor says the Obama administration is over-regulating business and hampering⁷ efforts to turn the economy around.

另一方面，共和党总统参选人罗姆尼表示，美国经济复苏的速度很慢，这应该归咎于奥巴马。罗姆尼说，奥巴马执掌下的美国政府，对企业界的管制过于严格，阻碍了经济复苏。

He has also been sharply critical of Mr. Obama’s 2010 health care law.

罗姆尼还对奥巴马在2010年提出的健康保险法案，提出了尖锐的批评。

At a campaign rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Friday, Romney said the program must be repealed⁸. “First of all, I would take away one of the things that frightens entrepreneurs and innovators and businesses of all kinds from hiring. I will get rid of Obamacare," he said.

星期五，罗姆尼在宾夕法尼亚州的匹斯堡展开竞选活动时表示，奥巴马的健康保险法案，一定要被废除。罗姆尼说：“如果当选总统，我首先要做的，就是废除让创业人、创新者和各种公司企业都不敢雇人的奥巴马健保法案。”

The president defended his policy and accused Romney of wanting to move the country backward. “America does not need to re-fight the battles we just had over Wall Street reform and health care reform," he said.

奥巴马在讲话中为自己的政策辩护，并且指责罗姆尼企图把国家拉向倒退。奥巴马说：“华尔街改革、健康保健改革的仗已经打完了， 美国不需要再来一遍。”

The Obama campaign slogan is “Forward,” and the president portrayed⁹ himself as someone who understands the struggles of middle-class Americans.

奥巴马的竞选口号是“朝前看”。他强调自己能够体谅美国中产阶级的难处。

In Columbus, Michelle Obama introduced her husband, as she is expected to do frequently during the campaign. Polls show that the First Lady is more popular than the president. “I will admit, I am a little biased¹⁰, because I think our president is awesome," she said.

在俄亥俄州哥伦布的竞选活动中，奥巴马的夫人米歇尔把他介绍给观众。米歇尔说：“我承认，我确实有点偏见的，因为我的确认为，我们的总统很不简单！”

The two rallies on college campuses Saturday are expected to be the first of many for the Obama campaign.

星期六在俄亥俄和弗吉尼亚两个州展开的竞选活动，只是奥巴马接下来一系列竞选活动的开始。

Young voters were an essential part of the coalition¹¹ that helped elect Mr. Obama in 2008, and he will need their help again this year.

2008年奥巴马首次当选总统的时候，来自年轻选民的支持，对他的成功，起到了非常重要的作用。这次选举，奥巴马仍然需要年轻选民的大力支持。